Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Varied reactions to the Avandia meta-analysis

---were cited in a report from DOC News. Despite widespread criticism of the meta-analysis lead author Steven E. Nissen thinks he’s had the last word:

"We're in a very tough quandary here in that we don't have the data that definitely answer the [heart attack] question," he says. "We just have the meta-analysis, which is all we're ever going to have because it looks like RECORD isn't going to give us the answer either."

And Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Public Citizen Health Research Group implies that Avandia is useless with this statement:

"A diabetes drug is only important or effective if it prevents cardiovascular problems, and Avandia doesn't prevent them; if anything, it makes them worse," says Wolfe, who has called on the FDA to withdraw the drug, or at the very least issue a "black-box" warning about the heart attack risk.

Well, Dr. Wolfe, if prevention of cardiovascular disease is the only standard, what do you want to do about insulin?

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